Williams: Eagles knocked off their high horse

Eagles cornerback Cary Williams, here breaking up a pass intended for Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, said he was glad the Eagles lost to the Vikings because it showed his teammates that they’re not invincible. (Associated Press)

PHILADELPHIA — Just when the Eagles were running out of things to say about their nasty loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Cary Williams stepped up to put it all in perspective.

Starting with “it is what it is” and ending with “it was what it was,” the brutally honest Williams said what veterans say when they let a five-game win streak and an early Christmas gift get away. The 48-30 loss to the Adrian Peterson-less Vikings was a powerful wakeup call.

“It definitely knocked us off our high horse,” Williams said. “We thought we were good. We thought we were going to just go into Minnesota and win. That those guys were going to lie down. It definitely showed us. It was kind of bittersweet at the same time. I think it was sad that we lost. And it was sweet that we lost at the end of the day because it helped humble us. We didn’t want to go into this week thinking that we were invincible.”

Next up is the Chicago Bears, who have the same 8-6 record as the Eagles but are 3-point underdogs in the Sunday night game at Lincoln Financial Field.

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These are not your daddy’s Bears. Linebacker Brian Urlacher, once the face of the Bears, is out of football and doing commercials. The defense is wretched. The offense is all but unstoppable, though, and features the biggest, most physical fleet of receivers and tight ends on this planet.

Williams is convinced the mistake-filled loss to the undermanned Vikings will make the Eagles better in just one week because the Eagles aren’t who they thought they were.

“It was great that they were able to knock us off and we learned from the experience,” Williams said, referencing the Vikings. “We’re going to get better and we’re looking forward to the challenges Chicago presents and we’re going to go out there and play tough Eagle football Sunday.”

Williams dug in his heels and defended those remarks as well. In all fairness, he gave the Vikings credit for outplaying the Eagles.

“They were the better team,” Williams said.

Williams also conceded he was part of the problem, not the solution last Sunday. Late in the game he drew an unnecessary roughness penalty, giving the Vikings a first-and-goal at the five-yard line that irked defensive coordinator Bill Davis to the point he sat Williams the rest of the game. They talked it out man-to-man.

“It was a productive meeting and that’s all I’m going to say,” Williams said.

Williams didn’t find it easy at all backing away from those remarks about the Eagles falling off their high horse. Pressed about why the Eagles would put themselves in such a position, he fired back.

“I’m just talking, man. I don’t think we went into that saying,” Williams said before getting cut off. “We won five games in a row, sir. … That’s what we did. We won five games in a row. It’s a chance of feeling positive about ourselves. We were feeling good about ourselves. They knocked us off and that’s just how we feel, man. It was good that they knocked us off. We don’t feel overly confident. We can’t feel overly confident in these situations. And I’m glad we lost. It was what it was. We needed to get knocked off so that we could re-evaluate what we’ve got going on in my perspective. And we need to get better.”

Few, if any teammates would disagree about the re-evaluation process and the need to get better. Not after the mistakes the Eagles made last weekend. With each error the Vikings got more confident. The NFC North-leading Bears play the same hard-nosed brand of football.

Davis said he himself lost it during the game.

“I wasn’t the most composed up in the box either as it was starting to unravel,” Davis said. “So all of us had a lesson to learn there that the game is tight in the NFL. Adversity hits. You’ve got to be able to overcome adversity and handle it. And I think collectively we all learned that we can do better and have to do better or bad things happen in the fourth quarter. We gave up 21 points in the fourth quarter when we shouldn’t have. And part of it was composure.”

The Eagle offense had its own issues. Quarterback Nick Foles supplied a telling answer when asked why the Birds abandoned the run.

“Whatever Chip decides, I agree with,” Foles said. “LeSean (McCoy) is one of the best to play the game at that position. He’s electric. I’ve never played with a guy who runs like he has. At the same time, I’m going with my coach. Whatever he decides, I’m going to be right there with him and I’m not going to disagree. I’m going to be on the same page. That’s how this thing is going to work. I’m going to have his back and he’s going to have my back. We’ll move forward. He learns, too. He’s going to learn through these things, too, just like I learn through making mistakes.”